Learning
JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg: Growing Public Health Concern of COVID-19 Chronic Olfactory Dysfunction
"This analysis of new daily cases of COVID-19, acute incidence of OD [Olfactory Dysfunction], and rates of recovery suggest that more than 700,000, and possibly as many as 1.6 million, US individuals experience COD because of SARS-CoV-2. To put this number in context, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders estimated that, among US adults 40 years or older, measurable OD was found in up to 13.3 million adults.6 Notably, the age-specific prevalence of OD is 4.2% for individuals between age 40 to 49 years and 39.4% for individuals 80 years and older." "The loss of olfaction has been associated with decreased general quality of life, impaired food intake, inability to detect harmful gas and smoke, enhanced worries about personal hygiene, diminished social well-being, initiation of depressive symptoms." more »
EPA Advances Science to Protect the Public from PFOA and PFOS in Drinking Water
"EPA will not wait to take action to protect the public from PFAS exposure. The agency will be actively engaging with its partners regarding PFOA and PFOS in drinking water, including supporting their monitoring and remediation efforts. Importantly, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, signed by President Biden on November 15, 2021, invests $10 billion to help communities test for and clean up PFAS and other emerging contaminants in drinking water and wastewater, and can be used to support projects in disadvantaged communities" more »
GAO: Vaccine Development: Capabilities and Challenges for Addressing Infectious Diseases
Policymakers could provide support for public-private partnerships to strategically address potential pandemic pathogens identified as priorities. These partnerships could, for example, develop and test vaccine candidates that may provide protection from pathogens with pandemic potential. This early development could provide a coordinated foundation that can be mobilized in an emergency. Such an approach could speed vaccine development as well as potentially reduce risk for vaccine researchers and developers concerning questions of safety, efficacy, and manufacturability. The lack of certainty of the commercial market and government funding for vaccines against pathogens with pandemic potential may be too risky for the private sector to undertake. more »
National Institutes of Health Supported Research Will Track Effects of COVID-19 Infection On Children Over Three Years
A large, long-term study of the impacts of COVID-19 on children has enrolled its first participant at the National Institutes of Health’s Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. The study, which is supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, will track up to 1,000 children and young adults who previously tested positive for COVID-19 and evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on their physical and mental health over three years. The study is expected to yield a detailed picture of COVID-19’s effects on the overall health of children, their development and immune responses to infection, and their overall quality of life in the years following infection. more »